Marseille: top attractions & road trip guide
Marseille is France's oldest city and its second largest, founded by Greek settlers around 600 BC as the port of Massalia. Centuries as a Mediterranean crossroads have given it a fiercely diverse identity, visible in the working Vieux-Port, the hillside neighborhoods, and the hilltop basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde watching over the harbor.
On a road trip, Marseille anchors the western end of the Côte d'Azur and is the gateway to the Calanques, a run of dramatic limestone inlets carved into the coastline just southeast of the city. It also opens onto routes heading west toward the Camargue and the Spanish border.
Top attractions
Vieux-Port
Marseille's historic harbor and beating heart, lined with restaurants, a daily fish market, and boats bound for the Calanques and nearby islands.
Notre-Dame de la Garde
A hilltop basilica crowned by a gilded Madonna statue, offering the city's best panoramic views and long serving as a sailors' landmark.
MuCEM
A striking modern museum on the harbor, wrapped in a lattice concrete facade, exploring the shared history of European and Mediterranean cultures.
Calanques National Park
A stretch of steep limestone cliffs and turquoise inlets between Marseille and Cassis, reachable by boat, foot, or scenic drive.
Le Panier
Marseille's oldest neighborhood, a maze of steep, narrow streets, colorful facades, and street art above the Vieux-Port.
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